Bienvenidos de la bendita Costa

Ahhhh la vida every night when I get back home and try to write in my journal, I could start with 'holy cow I'm exhausted' or even 'wow, just when I thought I could never feel more tired, today happened.' And every time would be completely accurate. Hahaha but por sacrificios se dan bendiciones, va?! (through sacrifices blessings are given) But this week was absolutely incredible!!!! My new comp is from Cali AND SPEAKS PERFECT ENGLISH!!!!!! I was kinda worried about that and how my Spanish would progress if I had that fallback, but having him has actually helped my Spanish a ton!!!  Being able to speak in English and have someone else that's learning too has really kind of helped everything to click. I can pretty much say whatever I want to say now, and when there's words I don't know I can work around it. I'm also getting to the point of being able to understand almost everything that is said!!!! (knock on all the wood I can find) So for everyone learning a language right now or who is going to- DON'T GIVE UP HOPE!!!!!! THE LANGUAGE WILL COME!!!!!! The beginning might be horrible and you're not gonna have a clue what's going on, but IT WILL COME I promise! And it's a promise from the Lord too. "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say" If we are obedient and keep the commandments and strive to receive those blessings that we want, the Lord is bound to help us!!!!!

But this weekend was especially great. You can't get much better than a day with 6 hours of inspired Conference talks combined with 2 baptisms and free food!!! But it does make for a pretty hectic day... We got up, exercised, showered, studied, then left for some investigators to bring them to Conference. At the church we set up our own TV right in front of the baptismal font to watch the Conference in english! I've been waiting for 3 months for this so it kinda felt like Christmas. It's crazy how much perspective can change- Before my mission it was just 10 hours of battling to stay awake. Now it's pure prophetic revelation, and I was hanging on every word!!! But after the second session on Saturday, we had the baptism of Lisandro and Manuel Contreras!! Their sister Anahi was able to be baptized last week, but their dad wouldn't sign their papers. Elder Sanders came and talked to him with me, and in one of the biggest miracles I have seen here the Lord softened this man's heart and he signed the papers!!! We went at the one time that he was actually sober and thinking rationally in the entire week. The Lord really does want these people in His kingdom, and He will help us to accomplish that!!

The one spiritual thought I have from the conference to share is about the Book of Mormon. Here in the mission, we always have a Book of Mormon in our hands. (unless it's raining) Walking, eating, teaching, in the house, we always have our Book of Mormon ready to use. This isn't just a tradition that got carried down over the the years or something we do for fun. This book is the most powerful missionary tool we have. And if this book is better than anything else in existence to bring souls to conversion, it will do the same for yours. The one thing I don't like about being out in the streets and teaching all day is that it means I have less time to read the Book of Mormon. I wish we had a full day when we could just stay home, and read the stories there. Because this book is directly from God. It could not possibly have been written by a mortal hand- every story, page, sentence and word it contains is inspired directly from the Lord. If you're not reading it every day, READ IT!! If you don't know it and feel this same love for it that I do, I promise you that will grow and develop as you delve into your daily study (not just read- study!) of the most correct book on the earth, and the biggest blessing God has given us to bring us closer to Him. As you read even five minutes a day, I promise you all that you will improve in all aspects of your life- school, work, in the home, your relationships with others around you, everything. And you will feel the love of the Lord for you and all of His children on this earth. 

I love you all, thank you so much for your letters every week and your support. You're always in my thoughts and prayers!!! 

Que les vaya bien, Elder Tadje